A new detail has emerged in the battle over Jordan Chiles’s Olympic bronze medal, a saga which has overshadowed a thrilling gymnastics competition at the Paris Games.
Chiles was initially given bronze in the floor exercise after an appeal over how the judges scored her routine was accepted and she moved from fifth to third place. However, the Romanian Olympic Committee said the appeal had been filed four seconds after the one-minute time limit. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) then voided Chiles’s appeal and the IOC ordered the American to return the medal. Romania’s Ana Barbosu has been promoted to third while Chiles has dropped back to fifth. The Romanians had asked for both gymnasts to be given bronze.
USA Gymnastics submitted evidence it said showed Chiles’s appeal had been within the time limit. But Cas dismissed the appeal and said its decision cannot be changed “even when conclusive new evidence is presented”.
However, the International Institute for Conflict Prevention & Resolution has reported that the head of the Cas panel that made the decision, Dr Hamid G Gharavi, has links to Romania. The Cas website links to Gharavi’s resume, which says he has represented the Romanian government in arbitration cases.
Cas told the New York Times that Gharavi had disclosed his work with the Romanian government and none of the parties in the Chiles hearing had objected. “In accordance with the guidelines on conflicts of interest issued by the International Bar Association, Cas has no reason to remove an arbitrator making such disclosure if the parties do not object to his/her appointment,” Cas told the Times.
USA Gymnastics could bring up Gharavi if it goes to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, which can hear appeals against Cas decisions, although the tribunal rarely overrules such decisions.
As well as confusion for fans, the saga has taken a toll on the gymnasts, who have spent days unsure of whether they would keep their medals. Barbosu and Chiles have both received abuse on social media.
“I can’t believe we play with athletes mental health and emotions like this … Let’s protect them,” the former Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci from Romania posted on X last week.
Chiles has taken herself off social media saying she wants to protect her mental health while Barbosu has said the fault does not lie with her American rival.
“I only want for everybody to be fair, we don’t want to start picking on other athletes of any nationality,” Barbosu told reporters. “We as athletes don’t deserve something like that, we only want to perform as best as we can and to be rewarded based on our performance. The problems lie with the judges, with their calculations and decisions.”
The US Olympic and Paralympic Committee has said it will continue to advocate for Chiles and fight “diligently to resolve this matter swiftly and fairly”.
